Another incursion into wonderland from the Catholic Bishops in The Philippines following the decision by health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to reinvigorate campaigns promoting condom in a bid to stop the spread of a looming HIV and AIDS epidemic.

The Bishop requested from the government that manufacturers place warnings on condom like those in cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and herbal medicines. The suggested warning was

“Condoms may fail to protect from AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.”

Cabral response was that it was a good idea and suggested the following warning

“Correct and consistent use of condom may protect you by 85% from HIV/AIDS and 95% from unwanted pregnancy”.

As always in this case, the red herring of comparing The Philippines to Thailand resurfaced ignoring the evidence that in today’s “condom free” Philippine, the number of infections is actually going up!

One can’t really blame The Philippines when, in 2004, the Bush administration had a similar idea. What’s really needed is a warning against all religions that interfere in people’s life to endanger their health and well being.

UPDATE:

Here is a figure from a 2004 UNIADS report showing how condom promotion in the early 1990s dramatically changed the face of the HIV epidemic in Thailand. People did not stop having sex, they carried on using condoms or having it with partners they saw as less risky. The Philippines is where Thailand was in the pre-condom era. There is no certainty that the epidemic will blow to the same level, but condom promotion and use can contribute to ensure that it does not happen.

In Thailand, the number of new infections has fallen from a peak of around 140,000 a year in 1991, to around 21,000 in 2003. This remarkable achievement came about mainly because men used condoms more, and also reduced their use of brothels. However, Thailand’s epidemic has been changing over the years (see Figure 4). There is mounting evidence that HIV is now spreading largely among the spouses and partners of clients of sex workers and among marginalized sections of the population, such as injecting drug users and migrants. Despite Thailand’s indisputable success, coverage of prevention activities is inadequate. This is especially the case among men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users; their infection levels remain high. In Bangkok, over 15% of men who have sex with men who were tested in a 2003 study were HIV-positive, and 21% had not used a condom with their last casual partner. Many young Thai men avoid brothels because they are afraid of contracting HIV. However, the drop in commercial sex patronage appears to have been accompanied by an increase in extramarital and casual sex. Young Thai women also appear more likely to engage in premarital sexual relationships than earlier generations (VanLandingham and Trujillo, 2002). In Chiang Rai province, a study among vocational students revealed that only 7% of males surveyed said they had ever bought sex, but that almost half the students (male and female) were sexually active. Behavioural surveillance between 1996 and 2002 shows a clear rise in the proportion of secondary-school students who are sexually active. It also shows consistently low levels of condom use.

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